Dru-Zod (DC Extended Universe)
Dru-Zod was a Kryptonian General, the Commanding Officer of the Kryptonian Warrior Guild, being in charge of the entire planet's forces. He was genetically engineered as a commanding leader and fierce warrior, one in a long line of warriors, all of whom served in Krypton's military. Zod was fiercely devoted to his duty and his people, but, sadly, at the expense of other races, which he deemed inferior. He later tried to terraform Earth to recreate Krypton, but was ultimately stopped by Kal-El. Biography ''Man of Steel Dru-Zod was head of the military on Krypton, specifically bred and raised to fulfill this role Zod is utterly committed to both the safety of Krypton and it's people. Zod worked alongside Jor-El, Jor-El was in charge of the planets sciences and worked in tandem with Zod to defend Krypton, however when Jor-El learned that Krypton's core is close to collapse Zod took it upon himself to lead a revolution against the current Kryptonian elders in order to secure the continuation of the Kryptonian race. However, Jor-El was disgusted by Zod's ruthlessness and willingness for war. Whilst Zod waged his civil war against the Kryptonian elders, Jor-El took his opportunity to steal the artifact known as the codex which contained the DNA of the entire Kryptonian race. Jor-El planned to use it to preserve the Kryptonian race on another world, whilst Zod desired the codex to cultivate himself an army in order to conquest new worlds. Zod chased down Jor-El amidst the warring factions, and soon learned that Jor-El and Lara had produced a naturally born son, Kal-El. Zod attempted to retrieve the codex by force, though Jor-El managed to fend off whilst Lara launched both the codex and Kal-El into space to escape the dying Krypton. The fight with Jor-El left Zod with a large wound on the side of his face, but Zod gained the upper hand and fatally stabbed Jor-El. Just before Zod could attempt to retrieve Kal-El's pod, he and his generals were apprehended by the Kryptonian elders. Zod and his associates were banished to the Phantom Zone for the crimes they had committed, Zod himself berating the elders for prolonging their suffering by imposing exile rather than quickly executing them. Before he was entombed in the Phantom Zone, Zod swore to Lara that he would find her son. Soon after their banishment, Krypton's core exploded and the planet and its inhabitants were destroyed, thus releasing Zod and his generals. They scoured the galaxy looking for surviving Kryptonians, only to find ruined Kryptonian machinery and nothing more. Years later, Kal-El unwittingly led Zod to his location when he activated the homing beacon in an ancient Kryptonian scout ship which crashed on Earth thousands of years ago. Zod, wishing to regain the codex, led his ships to Earth where he sent a message to the Earth stating that they are harboring an alien fugitive, if Kal-El was returned that would be the end of it, if they did not comply, then Earth would suffer the consequences. Kal-El is forced to comply and went to Zod's ship, however, because Kal-El had never been exposed to Kryptonian atmosphere before he was left in a weakened state. At first, Zod appeared excited to meet Kal-El, and tried to convince him that the returning of the codex would give Kal-El a chance to live among his own kind, rather than be an outcast amongst humanity. Kal-El was almost swayed until Zod revealed that in the absence of a home planet, Zod intended to eradicate all life on Earth and rebuild Krypton on it's foundations. Kal-El's unwillingness to comply left Zod no choice other than to read his mind, revealing the location of the pod he came to Earth in, hoping it contained the codex, Zod proceeded to the Kent household. Zod arrived at the Kent farm where he threatened Martha Kent to reveal the location of the pod, when she insulted him he threw her aside, infuriating Superman who attacked him and damaged his helmet, thus exposing Zod to Earth sensations for the first time, the experience weakened and disorientated Zod, forcing him to retreat. Back at his warship, Zod's scientist Jax-Ur revealed that Jor-El infused the Growth Codex into Kal-El's DNA itself, meaning that the key to rebuilding the Kryptonian race lay within Kal-El's genes. Zod vowed that they would extract the DNA from Kal-El's corpse. Zod then deployed two world engines; one landing in Metropolis and one in the Indian ocean. These two world engines began to change the Earth's atmosphere and landscape to mirror Krypton's, destroying the environment of the Earth completely. However, Superman destroyed the engine over the Indian ocean, and the military used Kal-El's own ship's engines to disable the other engine and returned Zod's crew and technology back to the Phantom Zone. Zod escaped, however without Kryptonian technology it would be impossible to cultivate Superman's DNA, rendering Kryptonians extinct. Zod then angrily told Superman that his only purpose was to ensure the survival of the Kryptonian race, and Superman had denied him this. Zod vengefully attacked Superman, and as the two engaged in a huge battle in the ruins of Metropolis, Zod used his heat vision to attempt to kill innocent bystanders, stating that he would rob Superman of the race he wished to protect, just as Superman had done to him. Superman got Zod in a headlock and pleaded for him to stop, Zod simply replied "NEVER!" leaving Superman with no choice but to snap Zod's neck to stop him from killing. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Zod's corpse and his ship were recovered by the government after the Battle of Metropolis, until Lex Luthor gained access to both of them and used DNA from the corpse and the Genesis Chamber from the ship to create Doomsday. Powers and Abilities Powers *'Kryptonian Physiology:' As a Kryptonian, Zod's alien body adapted to Earth's atmosphere and gravity and absorbed the yellow radiation emitted by the Sun. This process of adaption granted him superhuman powers, whose intensity increased, as long as he kept being exposed to Earth's environment. While Zod's body initially had problems adapting to the new planet's atmosphere, he was able to do so shortly before his final battle with Kal-El. **'Super Strength:' while under a yellow sun, Zod possesses incredible, potentially incalculable superhuman strength. He used it to easily fling cars and trucks, break through metal walls, and fight fellow Kryptonian Kal-El in hand-to-hand combat. His mighty punches generate visible shock waves, and sent Kal-El flying vast distances, with enough force to penetrate several skyscrapers before even starting to slow down. ** 'Super Speed:' Zod can run, fly and react at incredible supersonic speeds (at least March 3). During his final battle, Zod was able to land several blows on Kal-El before the latter could react. Only other Kryptonians and the speedster Flash rival him in this regard. ** 'Invulnerability:' The enhancing process that Earth's yellow sun environment did to Zod's skin, bones and muscles made him incredibly tough, durable, and virtually indestructible. He was able to fly into outer space without any problems (during his final battle), he also withstood the explosion of a gas station, and numerous mighty blows from Kal-El, all without sustaining any kind of permanent damage. Zod is also immune to earthly diseases and viruses. However, he can be damaged by magic (which completely by passes his invulnerability, directly affecting his physiology) and Kryptonite. Only other Kryptonians can generate enough force to break through his invulnerability, such as when Kal-El managed to break Zod's extremely durable neck, killing him. **'Flight:' Zod is able to use his great strength to perform super jumps, such as when he scaled a tall building in only a few leaps, while pursuing Kal-El. However, shortly thereafter, he learned to manipulate the force of gravity around him, which grants him the power to levitate and fly. Zod can fly also in space, not only in Earth atmosphere, and he can reach supersonic speeds (of at least Mach 3) at will. This ability allows him to maneuver with precision in any direction, as well as hover in one place. **'Heat Vision:' Zod can project thick laser-like concentrated beams of intensified heat from his eyes. He used this power to quickly melt large metal beams with ease, bring down a skyscraper, and threatened to use it to murder several innocent bystanders. **'X-Ray Vision:' When his visor first broke open, Zod was initially overwhelmed by the sudden intensity of his x-ray vision (which enabled him to see through objects and people), and was unable to control it. However, he was finally able to gain control over it through focus before his final battle. Lead appears to be the only substance that Kryptonian x-ray vision cannot penetrate. ** 'Super Hearing:' When his visor first broke open, Zod was initially overwhelmed by the sudden intensity of his hearing (which enabled him to simultaneously perceive numerous feeble and far noises very clearly), and was unable to control it. However, he was finally able to gain control over it through focus before his final battle, now being able to exclude ambient sounds in order to focus on a specific source or frequency. ** '''Longevity:' The solar energy in his cells halts the cellular decay. Abilities *'Expert Hand-To-Hand Combatant/Martial Artist:' As the Commanding Officer of the Kryptonian Warrior Guild, Zod is a fierce and ruthless combatant, being skilled in several Kryptonian martial arts. He initially maintained the upper hand in his final battle with Kal-El, though the latter was finally able to get Zod in a headlock by the end of it. Relationships *Kal-El/Superman - Enemy and killer. *Faora-Ul - Ally *Jax-Ur - Ally. *Tor-An - Ally. *Nam-Ek - Ally. *Jor-El - Good friend turned enemy and victim; deceased. *Lara Lor-Van - Friend turned enemy; deceased. *Doomsday - Clone; deceased. Appearances/Actors *DC Extended Universe (2 films) **''Man of Steel'' (First appearance) - Michael Shannon **''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Cameo) ''- ''Michael Shannon Trivia *Viggo Mortensen was considered to play General Zod. Gallery ''Man of Steel Krypton Zod.jpg|Zod orders an attack. kryptonians.jpg|Zod with Faora-Ul and other Kryptonians. zodarrested.jpg|General Zod swears vengeance against the House of El. zodnfriends.jpg|Zod with his accomplices, before exile. Faora-Ul, Zod and Jax-Ur.jpg Zod on Krypton.jpg|General Zod on Krypton. MoS General Zod helmet.jpg General Zod clear helmet.jpg Man of Steel Faora and Zod.jpg General Zod MoS.jpg Kryptonians_MOS.jpg|Kryptonians aboard Black Zero. Zod MoS.jpg zodarmor.jpg|General Zod in full armor. hotzod.jpg|General Zod using Heat Vision. Poster - Zod.jpg|Poster. MOS_Zod.jpg|Promotional Image. MoS Zod.jpg|Promotional Image. Man of Steel (3) .jpg|Promotional Image. Zodset.jpg|Michael Shannon on the Man of Steel set. zodemblem.jpg|General Zod's chest emblem. ''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'' Batman v Superman 39.png See Also *General Zod Links *Dru-Zod on the DC Cinematic Universe Wiki Category:Superman Characters Category:Man of Steel Characters Category:Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Characters Category:DC Extended Universe Characters Category:DC Extended Universe Deceased Category:Phantom Zone Prisoners Category:Villains Category:Kryptonians Category:Superhumans Category:Characters with Super Strength Category:Characters with Super Speed Category:Characters with Invulnerability Category:Characters with Animal-like powers Category:Characters with Flight Category:Characters with Heat Vision Category:Characters with X-Ray Vision Category:Characters with Super Breath